Veterans' show of support helps families trying to cope.

Byline: Mark Baker The Register-Guard

He was No. 6 on the list: Robert Helms, U.S. Navy.

"I wanted to come down because I hadn't met anybody else who's going through this," said Charlene Helms of Springfield, mother of Robert "Robbie" Helms, 20, who is somewhere in the Persian Gulf, on a hospital ship, helping America fight the war in Iraq.

But Tuesday night, his mother was at the Veterans Memorial Building in Eugene, having dinner at Mac's at the Vet's, and adding her son's name to a list of local military members fighting the war so he can be invited to the restaurant for a war-ending party.

Charlene Helm was there, along with other folks who have sons and daughters in the war, sitting next to supportive veterans who have fought in wars past.

She hasn't heard from her son, a Springfield High School graduate, since the war started. And she has taken time off from work to deal with the stress and the worry of not knowing where he is or how he's doing.

"It's really hard," she said.

Mac's kicked off the first of what it hopes will become a weekly ritual Tuesday nights during the war: a packed house with sympathetic folks helping each other get through tough times. To honor the troops fighting overseas, and to offer a refuge for local military families, the night spot - in cooperation with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 293 and American Legion Post 3, which jointly own the veterans building - decided to open its doors in a show of support.

Sodas and coffee were free. There was a $5 dinner special. And at 6:15 p.m., out of about 20 tables, there was not an empty one in the whole place.

"I think it's great that so many people came down to support our troops," said Pat McCallum, who manages Mac's, as he rushed between the bar and the kitchen, helping serve the constant stream of spaghetti dinners. "I think it's wonderful, I just wish I would have had an extra guy in the kitchen," he said laughing.

Posters were placed on walls throughout the restaurant for families to write down the name, rank and branch of the military of loved ones serving in Iraq. By 6:30 p.m., 14 names filled one of the posters.

"We want to support our troops," said Sherry Lyons of Eugene, whose daughter, Capt. Kristin Brown, is a nurse with the U.S. Army in Kuwait. "There's a price to pay for the freedom we have in our country."

Sherry's husband, Rick Lyons, was an Air Force fighter pilot in Vietnam. Their daughter has said anti-war protests around the world are very demoralizing for the troops who have to fight this war.

"They're so brave and so heroic," Rick Lyons said. "And they're just kids. They're scared and away from home and we have to support them."

CAPTION(S):

Charlene Helms (right) of Springfield watches Pat McCallum add her son's name, Robert "Robbie" Helms, to a poster listing local military personnel in the Persian Gulf.